DESPONDENT residents from the Kwa-Mathambo Informal Settlement off North Coast Road are planning a land invasion this evening. In a letter to the city mayor, James Nxumalo, the residents have threatened to not only invade municipal land but also to ‘make Durban ungovernable, so as to self-address this situation of homelessness’.
This follows several desperate pleas for resolution on the issues of dwellings and service delivery.
When a devastating fire tore through the settlement in August 2013, gutting more than 270 shacks and leaving hundreds of people homeless, the municipality promised to build houses for the community. However, 29 families are still waiting to receive the ‘dwellings’ that were promised to them. The settlement is home to more than 700 men, women and children.
According to Nomusa Khumalo, a member of the settlement’s committee, some of the homeless residents have been forced to live under the bridge opposite the settlement. Others have been forced to stay with families in the already crowded homes.
Ward 34 councillor, Deochand Ganesh, has warned that if the residents from the settlement engage in any illegal activity, the council would take the necessary action in terms of the law. “The council has been made aware of the community’s plight, but the city does not currently have the funds to service the community,” he said.
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To see more photos of the conditions at the settlement click here.
